Meeting One:

Prompt:

Kingsborough established a Global & Environmental Studies program in the mid-200’s but there is no available paper trail for the reasoning or design of the program.

One document from 2011 stated the purpose of the Concentration as:

The Global & Environmental Studies option in Liberal Arts examines the relationships of people, culture, and society with the biophysical environment. The interdisciplinary course of study takes aspects of politics, history, anthropology, language and science and creates a holistic theoretical and practical understanding of current pressing global issues.

This option allows the student to investigate natural as well as political, economic, and social systems. The ability for young people to succeed in tomorrow’s society emerges not from a set of skills alone, but also from the ability to acquire (transform and share) knowledge, reflect, and react.

In our first meeting we discussed the following with Celeste Creegan (Sustainability) and Luz Martin del Campo (Honors) :

Is a Global Studies option a good fit for Kingsborough students?

We focused on the career and transfer opportunities students would miss out on if there were no global studies. GIven the economic and political shift to global issues we considered ways to further deepen experiences for students to engage. Finally we discussed the need to reconsider the definitions many people use for sustainability and create a space for dialogue on campus.

What possible transfer options would make the most sense for these students?

Thank you to Director Creegan for a lengthy list of transfer options. These will be incorporated into a large report slated for Fall 2019.

How can faculty and staff provide a supportive environment for students for major and career exploration?

We agreed the FIG was a good start and committed to collaborating to building a presence.

Click here for Reading One to be discussed at Meeting Two:

The Assault on Global Education Author(s): James A. Caporaso and James H. Mittelman Source: PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Winter, 1988), pp. 36-44

Discussion Question:

What are the particular challenges of teaching global issues in our courses?

Reading Two can be located at KCTL. Please ask Jocelyn for your free copy of

I was fortunate to be able to dicsuss the collaboration at Eco-Fest with Director Ceergan related to the politics of the plastic industry. The event was well attended and many attendees expressed satisfaction. We agreed that this kind of collaboration was necessary to further our goals for global studies at KCC.

We had two new visitors to the second meeting: Dr. Jennifer Radtke (English) and Jazmin De La Cruz (Student Union & Intercultural Center). We discussed the challenges regarding the study of global issues. Jazmin, a former student and graduate of John Jay in Law and Society, expressed a need for additional research assistant funding at the community college level because the transfer college has the resources for freshman. Dr. Radtke presented a number of off campus activities that engaged in global issues.

Both attendees agreed to begin the common reading and we postponed the reading presentation until Fall 2019 with Prof. Parker (Sociology).

Against the Grain.

This reading will be co-facilitated with Prof. Stuart Parker (Sociology).

Each subsequent semester we will focus on a different global theme using a new book.

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